Midnight Stumbling

Posted on Sat Jan 3rd, 2026 @ 12:24pm by Ensign Matt Connor & Ensign Eric Banner

1,225 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Respite

The corridor outside the docking concourse swayed like a boat on a slow moving tide. Or maybe that was just him, Matt thought as he stared at the wall panel ahead of him. He was trying to get the blinking deck indicator to hold still long enough for him to read it, and he was failing. "Ok, so either that says the ship is this way, or I don't know. Maybe we're in the wrong place," he muttered. "Maybe you should take a look and see if you can figure it out."

“It’s hilarious that you think I can read that right now,” Eric said as he erupted into a fit of laughter. "Why don't we ask the wall for help. The wall knows things.”

Matt blinked at him. Then he blinked again as his brain tried to register what his comrade had said. Then, he just simply nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Wall’s been here longer than we have. Knows this place. Knows life. Knows, hell, I don't know,” His voice trailed into something almost philosophical before dissolving back into a snort as he leaned against the bulkhead and nearly slid down it at the same time.

"Hey, that looks like a good idea," Eric mumbled as he tried to bend down and slowly sit down. In his highly drunken state, he simply fell over with a grunt.

A passing ensign from another ship stared at them. Matt grinned and waved, prompting the ensign to simply pick up the pace and put as much distance from them as possible. "Well, security will be here soon," he said.

“Ok. It. Is. Ok,” Eric said, adjusting the front of his uniform jacket, which was only halfway closed and not at all straight. “We’re fine. We’re totally fine. We are model officers.”

Matt lifted a hand like he was taking an oath. “I am far from being the best officer,” he declared solemnly. “But I am award winning and brave. Afraid of nothing.” He tried to stand, but the floor betrayed him. He stumbled sideways, bumping into Eric before he stumbled into the bulkhead, which fortunately did not file a formal complaint.

Eric wheezed out a laugh that might have been halfway between humor and exhaustion. “We should... we should be quiet,” he whispered loudly. “We’re on a starbase. People are sleeping. Ships are sleeping. The universe is trying to sleep.”

Matt nodded sagely. “Yes. Stealth mode," he said before he proceeded to stand up directly into the bottom of a railing. “OW!” he shouted.

"Shhh!" Eric whispered loudly, the sound seemed to echo down the corridor. "Don't wake it up!"

Matt muttered something that thankfully no one else could hear much less understand. He reached up and grabbed the railing, then pulled up until he was standing. Or rather, holding on to the railing to dear life and leaning against the wall.

Eric followed suit, only he fell down three more times before he was finally in an upright and somewhat standing position. "Ok. Now what?"

"We find the ship," Matt said as he carefully stumbled along, leaning against the bulkhead and pulling himself along the railing.

After what seemed to be an eternity, and a couple of wrong turns, they finally reached the correct docking hatch. The Eclipse’s gleaming hull loomed beyond the transparent observation view port, a sight that was familiar, imposing, and somehow more real in their alcohol blurred haze than it had ever felt before.

The security officer standing on guard duty didn't quite stare, but Matt could have sworn that he saw a smirk as he and Banner made their way to the boarding hatch. The hatch security sensor chirped as Matt fumbled his combadge toward the panel. Muttering, he tried again, this time slamming his combadge onto the sensor plate. The computer finally recognized him. “Ensign Matthew Connor. Security officer, assigned to USS Eclipse. Authorized.”

Eric stumbled forward and slapped his own badge against the scanner like he was high fiving it. “Ensign Eric Banner. Operations officer. USS Eclipse. Authorized.”

The airlock cycled with a hiss. Matt gave his fellow security officer what could only be described as something that started off as a salute and ended in a very badly coordinated wave before he led the way onto the ship itself. The lighting inside the Eclipse was softer, cooler and somehow less forgiving to glassy eyes and unsteady legs. Their boots echoed down the corridor as they stepped aboard, trying their best to walk like sober adults. They failed. It was all Matt could do to stay on his feet. There was no railing to steady him. He groaned, and not for the first time that night he questioned his life choices.

Eric pressed a hand against the wall to steady himself and exhaled slowly. The corridor felt too big and it was too quiet. The ship during duty hours buzzed with life, movement, voices, systems humming in rhythm. At what unforgiving time it currently was, it felt like a cathedral. “I don’t like how empty it is,” he murmured.

Matt glanced over at him. “Yeah,” he said. “Feels like it’s waiting.”

Eric nodded shakily. “Or listening,” he said. He finally swallowed hard. “I thought,” He laughed weakly, but the sound was hollow. “First away mission. I’d just take readings. Carry equipment. Not.” He rubbed his eyes. “Not watch people die.”

Matt placed a hand on his arm. It wasn't a move that was dramatic or forced, just steady. “We survived and we came back,” he said quietly. “That doesn’t mean we’re okay with it.”

Eric nodded, and for the first time in days he didn’t feel stupid for hurting. He sniffed, wiped his face then promptly misjudged his step and nearly fell over.

Matt caught him. They both stumbled into the bulkhead and promptly burst into laughter again. It was too loud for the hour, but they were too drunk to care.

“Okay,” Eric said breathlessly. “New mission objective is to successfully get to quarters.”

Matt straightened as best he could. “Aye, sir,” he said as he saluted rather badly. They staggered forward together, bouncing slightly off one bulkhead and then then another. Somewhere, Matt thought for brief second, there was a security camera that was probably recording this disaster.

They finally reached the junction where their quarters split off in different directions. Stopping, Matt managed to stand upright without having to rely on the bulkhead.

“You gonna be okay?” Eric asked softly.

Matt hesitated for a long moment before he nodded. "Yeah, I think so. You?"

Eric took a breath and felt the world spin for a split second. "Yeah," he groaned.

Matt extended his hand. "Alright then. Night, Ensign Banner," he said.

Eric clasped Matt's hand briefly. "Night Ensign Connor," he returned.

Releasing Banner's hand, Matt turned and started off down the corridor to his quarters, stumbling into the wall quite a few times. Behind him, he could hear Banner doing the same. Slowly, Matt squinted his eyes at the doors lining the corridor until he read the door with his name on it. Fumbling with the controls, he forgot to stand back and instead fell forward into his quarters when the doors opened. The rest of the night became as dark as his quarters.

 

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